Drawing board and the like



Feb 1, 1938- A H YOUNG 2,107,049-

DRAWING BOARD AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 23, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r ZIIWCMM 4 A/fred/z Young Feb. 1, H YOUNG I 2,107,049

DRAWING BOARD AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 23, '1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V Z4}; if g l J A/fred HKxmg Patented Feb. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in drawing boards, easels, or the like for use in drawing, sketching, painting, et cetera.

An aim of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangement whereby the board may be very quickly and readily adjusted to any desired inclination with respect to the surface supporting the same. With my improved arrangement, the user may set up the board to any desired inclined position which is most comfortable or convenient to perform the painting or drawing operations at hand.

A further aim of the invention is to provide a drawing board of the character described which may be supported at any desired angle with either of its faces in working position; that is to say, the board is readily reversible so that in the event the user has, on one side thereof, a partially finished drawing or painting which he does not wish to disturb, he may use the other side on which to do another piece of work.

A still further aim of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement wherein the supporting members may be readily folded into the plane of the board so that the folded structure occupies but very little space.

A still further aim of the invention is to provide an improved drawing board having the above and other advantageous features and which is characterized by its extreme simplicity in construction and the economy with which the parts may be manufactured and assembled.

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown, for illustrative purposes, one embodiment which the present invention may take,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing my improved arrangement with the board supported in inclined position on a table;

Fig. 2 is a view of the structure in folded condition;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the board in the condition shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing one of the members for securing the parts in folded position.

Referring to the drawings in detail, [0 designates the drawing board which is of generally rectangular shape and of uniform thickness. Se-. cured to the side edges of the board adjacent the forward edge thereof are filler blocks II which are preferably of the same thickness as the board. I Pivoted to these filler blocks, as by means of pivot members I2, is a three-sided frame having side portions or members l3 and a rear cross member or portion M. This supporting frame is preferably made of strips of wood of generally square cross section and of a thickness comparable to the thickness of the board so that, when the parts are folded up as shown in Fig. 2, the upper and lower surfaces of the frame are flush with the respective surfaces of the board. The side members I3 are of such length that, when the parts are folded, the cross member [4 is closely contiguous to the rear edge of the board. For the purpose of holding the board in inclined relation with respect to the frame, legs or struts 20 I5 are provided, one at each side of the board I0 and within the side members l3 of the frame. In the present illustrated disclosure, these legs or struts, which are also made of wood of the same thickness as the frame, are pivoted adjacent their rear ends to the side members l3 adjacent the rear ends of the latter by pivot pins IS. The pivot members l2 and I6 may be in the form of round pegs or nails. The side edges of the drawing board are provided with spaced apart round recesses I1, and the legs are also provided with openings l8 adapted to interchangeably register with the recesses II. The registering recesses II and openings l8 are adapted to selectively receive pins or studs l9 which may be similar to the pin 24 shown in Fig. 4.

For the purpose of securing the parts in the folded position shown in Fig. 2, the pin 24 shown in Fig. 4 is provided. This pin is adapted to extend through registering openings 22 and 23 in the leg and in the side member of the frame and to project into a recess 2| in the side edge of the board. In order that the pin may be readily withdrawn from place, there is pivoted on the outer end of the pin a finger piece 25 which may be folded into an out-of-way position in a recess 26 in the outer surface of the side member l3 of the frame. In the present illustrated disclosure, this finger piece is in the form of a flat metal plate having one end bifurcated to form a pair of ears 2! adapted to be received in the opposite ends of a transverse opening in the outer end of the pin. The stud or pin I9 is provided with a similar finger piece 25a. The leg I5 is grooved as at 28 so as to accommodate this finger piece a.

From the arrangement described, it will be observed that when the parts are in the folded up condition shown in Fig. 2, the frame forms a border about three sides of the board and the legs l5 are positioned between the side members of the frame and the side edges of the board. The whole structure presents a flat assembly of substantially uniform thiclmess. In this condition, the structure takes up but verylittle space, it being observed that the supporting frame and legs addbut little to the over-all size of the board In itself. The structure may be used in this folded up condition without the supporting frame or legs inconveniencingthe' user in any way. The parts are locked, in this folded up position by the pin 24. When it is desired to use cess 2| and the opening 22 in the leg, the board is brought to the desired angle, and the legs are adjusted so that the desired openings l8 therein register with the selected recesses 11 in the side edges of the board. 1 The pins 19 are then inserted in the registering openings and recesses. The board is now rigidly supported in its selected inclined position. It will be observed that the forward edge of the board 10 projects downwardly below the bottom surface of the frame,

thus providing a ledge adapted to engage against the forward edge .of the supporting member sucli',' for example, as the top T'of a table. Due to this engagement of theboard'a gainst'the edge of the table, the board" is held against sliding backwardly when pressure is applied to the front raceof the boardi The user may find it desirable, after he has started on apiece of work on oneside of the board III, to discontinue that particular piece for the'time being and make another drawing or painting. In that event, he may invert theframe and'swing the board from one side of the plane 'of the frame to the other side of that plane and thus bring what was the underside of the board to an uppermost position.

The frame, legs, and board are preferably formed of wood so that a very simple and cheap construction is had which may be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely dif.

ferent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from'the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above descriptionor shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and'specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

, I claim as my invention:

1. ,In' a device of the character described, a

.board,-a three-sided supporting frame having side members arranged at opposite sides of the board,-and a rear cross member closely adja--, cent to the rear edge of the board when the parts are in. folded condition, said frame being substantially of thesamethickness as said board and said board lying within the plane of said a frame when the parts are in folded condition,

of said side members to said board adjacent the forward edge of the latter, legs disposed to opposite sides of said board within said frame and pivotally connected to the respective side members adjacent the rear edges of the latter, and means for adjustably connecting said legs to said board, said legs when the parts are in folded condition lying between said side members an the side edges of said board.

2. In a device of the character described, a three-sided frame having a pair of" parallel side members anda cross member connecting the rear ends of the side members, a pair of legs re- 1 spectively connected to said side members adjacent the rearends of the latter and lying within said frame and in the plane thereof when the parts are in folded condition, a board to which I the forward ends of said side members are pivotally'connected, said board when the device is the device, the pin 24 is withdrawn from the re- Q frame being substantially ofv the same thickness as said-'boardand saidboard lying within "the plane- 0f said frame when the parts. arein folded condition, means forpivotingthe forward ends of said side members to said board adjacent the forward edge of the latter, legs disposed to oppositesides of said board and pivotally'connected to the respective side members adjacent the rear ends of the latter, means for adjustably connecting said legs to said board, said legs whenQth parts are in folded condition lying between said,

side members and the side edges of said board; and a pin adapted to extend through one of said side members, one of"s'aid legs, and" into the board to secureth-e parts in folded condition."-

4. ma device of the character described, a

board, a three-sided frame having'side members and a rear member and within which saidiboard is adapted to lie when the parts are in folded condition, filler blocks secured to the side edges of said board adjacent the forward 'edgethereof,

means for pivotally connecting the forward ends of said side members to said board outside of said filler blocks, legs disposed to opposite sides of said board and pivotally connected to the respective side members adjacent the rear ends of the latter, and means for adjustably connect= 5 ing said legs to said board, said legs when the parts are in folded condition lying between said side members and the side edges of said board and rearwardly of said filler blocks.

5. In a device of the character described, a

board, a frame comprising a pair of side members and a cross member connecting the rear ends of the side members, said board when the parts are in folded condition lying within said frame, a leg pivotally connected to each side member adjacent the rear edge of the latter, each of said legs having spaced openings and each of the'side edges of said board having recesses adapted to selectively register with said openings, pins adapted to be engaged in the registering recesses and openings for securing the board in the desired position, and a finger piece pivoted to the-outer end of each-pin, said legs having grooves adapted to accommodate said finger pieces in out of the way positions.

6. In a device of the character described, a rectangular drawing board, a three-sided supporting frame having parallel side members and a rear cross member at right angles thereto, said frame being of substantially the same thickness as the board, means pivotally securing the forward end of the board between the forward ends of the side frame members and in spaced relation thereto, a pair of legs disposed to the m opposite sides of the board and respectively connected to the inner sides of the side members adjacent their rearward ends, means adjustably connecting the legs to the board, said legs and board being adapted to fold within the frame whereby all of said parts will lie substantially within the same plane, and a pin receivable through a side frame member and leg and into the board for removably locking the parts together in folded condition.

ALFRED H. YOUNG. 

